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Melkote Sri Ramanujar

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Introduction 1

Anjali Vaibhavam 7

Thaniyan For Anjali Vaibhavam/avathArikai of Anjali Vaibhavam 9

Supremacy of Sriman NArAyaNan 15

Lack of Time restrictions for Anjali 16

Simplicity & Universality of Anjali 17

Superiority of Anjali 18

Anjali's destruction of all karmas 19

Benefits conferred by Anjali 21

Moksham : Anjali or Prapatti? 22

Symbol from the jeevan 23

Anjali houses bharanyAsam inside 24

Removing Lord's anger 25

Unique glory of Prapatti 26

Lord's dayaa for the Prapannan 27

Anjali granting moksham 29

Dispute and reconciliation over Anjali 30

C O N T E N T S

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C O N T E N T S (Contd...)

Glory of Prapatthi revealed by Swami ALavandar 31

The four marks of Prapannan 33

The indicators of the four lakshaNams of the Prapannan 35

Nigamanam : The vaibhavam of anjali 37

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. ïI>.

ïImte ingmaNtmhadeizkay nm>

IIINTRODUCTIONNTRODUCTIONNTRODUCTION

THE ORIGIN OF THIS GRANTHAM

Anjali is the mudhrA or the gesture of folding one’s hands (palms) in reverence to another. Vaibhavam means the glory. Hence Anjali Vaibhavam means that it is about the glory of Anjali mudhrA.

Swamy Desikan had written a bhAshyam for Swamy ALavandhAr’s SthOthra Rathnam. When Swami Desikan reflected on the deep meanings of slOkam 28 of SthOthra Rathnam dealing with the power of anjali to cause infinite auspiciousness, he was moved to write an elaborate commentary on this 28th slOkam. Thus originated the Chillarai Rahasya Grantham, which Swami Desikan named as “Anjali Vaibhavam”.

COMMENTARY:

adiyEn has based my commentary on anjali Vaibhavam from what I have learned from my mAnaseeka AchAryan, VangIpuram Navaneetham Sri U.Ve. Sri Rama DesikAchAr (Sri VaikuNda vAsi) Swamy

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thiruvallikkeni Alavandar

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SWAMY ALAVANDHAR’S STHOTHRA RATHNAM - 28TH SLOKAM

The slOkam dealing with the power of anjali is as follows:

Tvdi'!ºmuiÎZy kda=ip kenict!

ywa twa va=ip sk«t! k«tae=Ãil>,

tdEv mu:[aTyzuÉaNyze;t>

zuÉain pu:[ait n jatu hIyte. 28.

tvadanghrim uddiSya kadaapi kEnacit

yathaa tathaa vaapi sakrut krutOanjali: |

tadaiva mushNaati aSubhaani aSEshata:

Subhaani pushNaati na jaatu heeyatE ||

MEANING:

Oh Lord! When any one thinks of your sacred feet as upAyam and phalan and folds his hands in anjali mudhrA even once at any time, his ancient and sorrow-giving karmAs are destroyed and he will enjoy paripUrna BrahmAnubhavam at Your supreme abode, Sri Vaikuntam.

That anjali will never fail to yield such a result and will be the cause of all auspiciousness.

The slOkam preceding the 28th slOkam quoted above praises the matchless glory of the sacred feet of the Lord, which was the object of the anjali mudhrA of the bhakthan and Periya MudaliyAr (ALavandhAr).

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SWAMY ALAVANDHAR’S STHOTHRA RATHNAM - 27TH SLOKAM

tvam&tSyiNdin padp»je

inveiztaTma kwmNyidCDit,

iSwte=rivNde mkrNdinÉRre

mxuìtae ne]urk< ih vI]te. 27.

tava amrutasyandini paada pankajE

nivESit AtmA katham anyadicchati ? |

sthitE aravindE makaranda nirbharE

madhuvratO nEkshurakam hi veekshatE ||

MEANING:

Oh Lord! How can anyone who attached his mind to your sacred feet- capable of giving MokshAnugraham- wish for anything else? When the honey-laden lotus flower is there, why would a honey bee dependent on honey for its life sustenance pay any attention to the water-thorn flower?

While the 27th slOkam of Swamy ALavandhAr celebrates the matchless delectable experience (BhOgyAthAdhisayam) of the Lord’s lotus feet (Bhagavath charaNAra-vindham), the 28th slOkam describes the power of a single anjali aimed even once at those charaNAravindhams of the Lord (tvadangrim uddiSya sakrut kruta anjali:). That anjali recognizes the sacred feet of the Lord as upAyam (means) and PrApyam (fruit or phalan) and earns the reward of Moksham.

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Swami Desikan was immensely moved with the messages contained in these two slOkams of Swami ALavandhAr’s SthOthra Rathnam and created the chillarai rahasyam revered as “anjali Vaibhavam”.

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TTTHEHEHE T T TANIYANANIYANANIYAN FORFORFOR ANJALIANJALIANJALI V V VAIBHAVAMAIBHAVAMAIBHAVAM

ihtay svRjgta< VyKt< yae=Ãil vEÉvm!,

àacIkzt! t< vNde=h< vedaNtyugdeizkm!.

hitAya sarva jagatAm vyaktam yO anjali vaibhavam |

prAcIkaSat tamm vandEaham vEdAnta yuga dESikam ||

The taniyan salutes Swamy Desikan for illuminating and elaborating on the glories of anjali Vaibhavam clearly for the well being of the whole world.

SWAMY DESIKAN’S REASON FOR CREATING ANJALI VAIBHAVAM

At the end of this Sri Sookthi, Swamy Desikan explains his reasons for composing this grantham. He says:

k]f][f kzlf etazkf Ppfpiy Akyi[f epRAm t^[

']f]mf kdkfk 'M^[tf TAbvaiymfp<tlalf

ti]f]miT ev[fB Etbitf etqinftpi[f ci[fmtiEyaaf

p]f}mf p]itikqf pabfbipf pznf etazilf pbfbi[Em.

KaNNan kazhal thozhak koopiya kaiyin perumai tanai

yeNNam kadakka yamunait-thuRayavar iyamputhalAl

tiNNamithu-venRu thERit theLintha-pinn sinmathiyOr

paNNum paNithikaL paaRRip pazham-thozhil paRRinamE.

Periya Mudaliaar (Swamy ALavandhAr) indicated in one of the slOkams of his sthOthra rathnam (28th slOkam) that glories of anjali -- aimed at the sacred feet of the Lord -- are limitless. adiyEn (Swamy Desikan)

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understood that upadEsam clearly and recognized it as one of the cardinal doctrines of our siddhAnthams. adiyEn performed the anjali to the Lord’s holy feet by condemning the incorrectly held views of opponents on this matter on what was taught to us clearly by Swamy ALavandhAr on the matchless vaibhavam of anjali MudhrA.

Swamy Desikan explains the reason behind his efforts to create this grantham through another slOkam:

ïImÖe»qnaw> ïIxrpdpÒs´icÄanam!,

AÃilvEÉvmkwyt! AnuSm&t< yamunacayER>.

SrImat vEnkaTanAtha: Sridhara pada padma-saktha cittAnAm |

anjali vaibhavam akathayat anusmrutam yaamunAcAryai: ||

MEANING:

Sri VenkaTanAthan as an AchAryan (Desikan) elaborated on the glories of anjali vaibhavam as instructed by Swamy ALavandhAr for the benefit of BhagavathAs involved deeply in the meditation of the lotus feet of the dhivya dampathis.

WHY THE NAME ANJALI?

The folding of hands in display of reverence to the Lord’s holy feet is known as anjali. This act makes the Lord’s heart melt with dayA for the Bhakthan. anjali has therefore been defined as “am + jalayathi” or that which makes the Lord’s solid heart melt into a watery state. The joy of the Lord in response to this anjali mudhrA by His bhakthan is beyond any description. He is overjoyed at seeing the Bhakthan with folded palms.

The other interpretation of the word, “anjali” is linked to the gesture of

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a prapannan to the Lord to describe his state of not doing anything again to protect himself. Karthruthva thyAgam is indicated by the anjali mudhrA by this definition.

thirukkachchi poigai AzhwAr

THE POWER OF ANJALI MUDHRA

Swamy Desikan has quoted one of his own slOkams from Sri VaradarAja PanchAsath (30th slOkam) to indicate the power of the anjali mudhrA over the anger of the Lord, when He sees those, who transgress His

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commands.

hStIz Ê>o iv; idGx )lanubiNxin

Aaäü kIqmpraht s<àyaege,

Ê:kmR sÂyvzat! Êrit³me n>

àTyômÃilrsaE tv in¢haôe.

hasteeSa du:kha visha digdha phalaanubandhini Aabrahma keeTam aparaahata samprayOgE | dushkarma sancaya vaSaat duratikramE na:

pratyastram anjalirasau tava nigrahaastrE ||

MEANING:

Oh Lord of Hasthigiri! The kings of the world shoot poison-coated arrows at their enemies to destroy them. Similarly, you as the King of Kings and DevAs consider us, who have committed so many aparAdhams to You as Your enemies. You are therefore ready to dispatch us to hell (narakam) with your arrow known as nigraha sankalpam. That arrow gives us enormous pains. That however is your dhivya sankalpam. No one can arrest or stop Your sankalpam. That sankalpam will reach any one or any thing without interruption from the mighty BrahmA to the lowly worm. If that is so, what can we, who have committed limitless apachArams through transgression of Your divine commands do? How can we escape from your mighty arrow of nigraha sankalpam? We do however have one weapon at our control to deflect your wrath. This is an answering arrow from our quiver. That effective countermeasure to your anger (SeeRRam) is our hands folded with Bhakthi that perform anjali mudhrA to Your lotus feet. When we stand before you with this anjali mudhrA,

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Your anger subsides and You bless us with every auspiciousness, all the way up to Moksha siddhi.

THE TOPICS COVERED BY SWAMY DESIKAN

In his rahasya grantham of anjali Vaibhavam, Swami Desikan covers the following topics:

1. The Supremacy of Sriman NaarAyaNan and the relative status of other Gods

2. Lack of time restriction for performing anjali

3. The simplicity and universality of anjali

4. The superiority of anjali over all dharmams

5. Anjali’s destruction of all KarmAs

6. The benefits conferred by anjali

7. Answer to the question: What grants Moksham? Is it anjali or Prapatthi?

8. ChEthanan’s gesture is anjali and BhagavAn’s gesture is abhaya hastham

9. Anjali gesture embeds in itself BharanyAsam

10. The Lord’s anger subsides with Bhakthi or Prapatthi yOgam

11. The Uniqueness of Prapatthi

12. The special affection of the Lord for the Prapannan

13. Anjali’s effect to yield gradual and direct Moksham

14. Other’s differences of opinions on the power of anjalai and Swamy Desikan’s answers to them

15. The glory of anjali as revealed by Swamy ALavandhAr

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16. The four attributes that the Prapannan must have

17. The signs for recognition of these four attributes

We will now cover the 17 sub-topics.

thirumylai peyazhwAr

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(1) T(1) T(1) THEHEHE S S SUPREMACYUPREMACYUPREMACY OFOFOF S S SRIMANRIMANRIMAN N N NAARAARAARAAAYAYAYANNNANANAN

Oh Lord of SrI! Your lotus feet have the power of protecting all the worlds and their beings. Those holy feet are sweeter than the sweetest things known to men, when it comes to enjoyment. The ones blessed with a high sense of vivEkam consider without doubt that those lotus feet of Yours are the means (upAyam) for and the fruit (phalan) for direct mOksham.

Both BrahmA and Sivan have limited power and can not therefore grant mOksham directly. Therefore, the ones with discriminating intellect (VivEkis) do not worship them to attain mOksha phalan. BrahmA was born from you, when you were in a joyous mood; Sivan was born, when you were in an angry mood. Both of them follow the path shown by you and attend to their duties of creation (BrahmA) and destruction (Sivan). Since they are controlled and directed by you, they have no intrinsic power to grant the boon of liberation from the cycles of births and deaths (mOksham). Indra also belongs to the group of Gods with restricted powers. They do not have your incomparable glory resulting from your union with Sri Devi. Therefore VivEkis reject them (BrahmA, Sivan et al) as appropriate Gods to approach for attaining Moksham. Only your sacred feet can grant the highest of the fruits (viz). mOksham. Rest of the Gods can only grant fruits that do not last. Therefore, the VivEkis stay away from approaching any God other than Yourself to secure the highest purushArtham (most coveted boon) of Moksham.

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(2) L(2) L(2) LACKACKACK OFOFOF TIMETIMETIME RESTRICTIONRESTRICTIONRESTRICTION FORFORFOR PERFORMINGPERFORMINGPERFORMING ANJALIANJALIANJALI

In this world, there are many dharmams. All of them have time restrictions. Some have to be performed at a specific time-defined entity such as yugam, year, paksham, day of the week, night time, day time, yAmam, rAsi and muhUrtham. There is an obligation to perform these rites (dharmAs) under specific time-defined periods. Otherwise, the fruits of observing these dharmAs are not realized. This is an obligatory issue for these rites. For the rite of performing anjali however, there are no time restrictions whatsoever. It can be done at any one of the yugams, years, months, fortnights, and day of the week, night or day. Anjali is not time-circumscribed. Whenever there is a desire to perform anjali to the sacred feet of the Lord with Bhakthi that time it is the appropriate time to engage in this redeeming act.

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(3) S(3) S(3) SIMPLICITYIMPLICITYIMPLICITY ANDANDAND THETHETHE U U UNIVERSALITYNIVERSALITYNIVERSALITY OFOFOF ANJALIANJALIANJALI

The rite of anjali is available to every one independent of their caste, varNam, guNam, Asramam or status. It is the easiest of the acts to perform. There are no restrictions on the adhikAri (qualifications of the person). Any one is thus qualified to perform anjali to the Lord’s holy feet with a heart filled with devotion and receive the Lord’s unrestricted blessings (paripUrNa anugraham). Anjali like speaking the truth is a dharmam that is common to all. Therefore from the lofty BrahmA to the lowest of the ChEtanam, can perform anjali and receive the Lord’s anugraham (grace). Anjali can be performed even by those, who have no clear understanding of either the supreme principles of Sriman NaarAyaNan, or the lower principles of sentient and the insentient or the upAyam (means) of Prapatthi or the phalan (fruit) of Moksham. This anjali mudhrA can be of the form of folded palms over the head or folded palms at the level of chest to bear the highest of fruits. When one is unable to even fold his palms to perform anjali, he can do it with speech or with the mind. Anjali yields the desired fruit independent of the way in which it is performed (ManO-Vaak-Kaayam). It is sufficient to do this anjali with deep bhakthi for the redeeming feet of the Lord just Once.

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(4) T(4) T(4) THEHEHE S S SUPERIORITYUPERIORITYUPERIORITY OFOFOF ANJALIANJALIANJALI OVEROVEROVER THETHETHE OTHEROTHEROTHER DHARMDHARMDHARMAAASSS

MahA Bharatham reveals to us that of all the dharmAs, those dharmAs performed for the Lord are the superior ones. Those dharmAs relating to the Lord are:

1. Cleaning His temple with broom and/or with water,

2. construction of flower and ThuLasi garlands,

3. presentation of dheepam (lamps lighting),

4. circumambulation (pradakshiNam),

5. prostration before Him,

6. recital of sthuthis on Him,

7. singing of His divine names, manthra japam et al.

Most superior to all of the above dharmams aimed to please the Lord is the anjali dharmam. Its size is limited to that of folding One’s palms with Bhakthi. The other dharmAs have a latency period, when it comes to yielding their fruits. This anjali has the unique ability to gladden the heart of the Lord and gaining His mercy (DayA) and anugraham right away.

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(5) A(5) A(5) ANJALINJALINJALI’’’SSS DESTRUCTIONDESTRUCTIONDESTRUCTION OFOFOF ALLALLALL K K KARMARMARMAAASSS

WHAT ARE THE OTHER BENEFITS THAT ANJALI CAN CONFER ON THE

PRACTITIONER?

Srirangam Nammazhwar

Even for those, who have sought refuge in the Lord, the effect of residual vaasanAs will stay with them. As a result, paapams (sins) and PuNyams (meritorious deeds) will restrain them as though they are bound with iron or golden chains. They may not have an intense desire to

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break these chains to gain mOksham. Even if these appear like beneficial to them, they will continue to tie him down to the afflictions of SamsAric life. This anjali by its sheer power has the ability to let its practitioner go on his way and then correct him for redemption.

HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?

It is like curing the disease of children, who resist taking medicine by hiding that medicine inside a cube of jaggery that is welcome to them and letting them swallow it and thereby get cured. In this manner, anjali will let the one with residual vaasanAs experience some pains and pleasures and at the end break the golden and the iron chains of puNyam and paapams. It will thus destroy the obstacles that stand in the way of a prapannan to realize mOksham and grant him paripUrNa BrahmAnubhavam in Sri Vaikuntam. For those who had not performed Prapatthi, anjali will destroy the obstacles that stood in the way of performing Prapatthi and stimulate him to seek a sadAchAryan and perform Prapatthi. Thus, it helps the prapannAs as well as those who have not performed Prapatthi. The various vrathams (exculpatory rites) like Krucchram, SaanthrAyaNam et al sanctioned by the saasthrams can only eliminate few inauspiciousness and thus have limited powers. Anjali vratham on the other hand has the power to destroy all virOdhis (enemies or obstacles) to mOksha phalan.

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(6) T(6) T(6) THEHEHE BENEFITSBENEFITSBENEFITS CONFERREDCONFERREDCONFERRED BYBYBY ANJALIANJALIANJALI

Anjali eliminates not only all the obstacles that one encounters but also blesses one with many more boons.

These boons and blessings are:

1. Anjali paves the way for paripUrNa Bhagavath anubhavam in Sri Vaikuntam.

2. Anjali points to Prapatthi as the means for the enjoyment of that BrahmAnandham.

3. Anjali facilitates the easy observance of the different angAs of Prapatthi.

4. Anjali makes one fit for performing Prapatthi if he has not observed it already.

5. It helps the prapannan to continue to perform bhagavath-BhAgavatha Kaimkaryam until he sheds his mortal coils and ascends to parama padham. anjali removes the obstacles in the performance of such kaimkaryams.

6. Anjali does not rest only with giving the fruits to the one, who folds his palms with Bhakthi to the Lord, but it blesses seven generations of people associated with him.

7. Asthira (non-enduring) phalans like svargam do not last beyond the earned puNyams.

The nithya kaimkaryam at Sri Vaikuntam blessed through the power of anjali however lasts forever. Thus, the anjali done in this world leads to the extent of Prapatthi here and when the prapannan reaches Sri Vaikuntam, anjali blesses him with nithya kaimkarya bhAgyam.

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(7) W(7) W(7) WHICHHICHHICH CONFERSCONFERSCONFERS M M MOKSHAMOKSHAMOKSHAM: A: A: ANJALINJALINJALI OROROR P P PRAPATTHIRAPATTHIRAPATTHI???

There arises a question: Anjali is just a gesture of folding one’s palms. How can one say that it grants the phalan of Moksham? PramANams say that it is Prapatthi alone that can grant Moksham. Is there a contradiction here? The resolution for this doubt is: One should not consider Anjali as a simple folding of the palms. It should be considered as the anjali done by a prapannan during the occasion of his Prapatthi. The qualifications needed for a prapannan are:

1. not having the capital of Bhakthi yOgam,

2. disinterest to seek any other protector or phalans.

Prapannan performs anjali in this context. During that occasion, his anjali stands as a symbol of his special status. That anjali takes the form of Prapatthi and underlines his status as one who has no means to protect himself and as one who has no other recourse except the Lord as his rakshakan. That anjali can not therefore be a simple folding of the palms. It becomes a mudhrai housing BharanyAsam inside. That BharanyAsam undoubtedly grants all phalans including Moksham. Anjali displays then the glories of Prapatthi. Anjali becomes tantamount to Prapatthi. Therefore it does not conflict with the PramANams.

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(8) T(8) T(8) THEHEHE SYMBOLSYMBOLSYMBOL FROMFROMFROM THETHETHE J J JEEVANEEVANEEVAN ISISIS ANJALIANJALIANJALI ANDANDAND ABHAYAABHAYAABHAYA HASTHAMHASTHAMHASTHAM

ISISIS THATTHATTHAT OFOFOF THETHETHE L L LORDORDORD

The chethanan holds the anjali mudhrai to indicate that he is unfit to perform Bhakthi yOgam and is an akinchanan as well as ananyagathi. His anjali demonstrates his contentment over gaining the phalan of Moksham through that Prapatthi. To that jeevan holding anjali mudhrai, the Sarva Rakshaka Swamy extends His right hand with abhaya mudhrai. Our Lord assures the prapanna Jeevan that He has now accepted the burden of protecting that jeevan and He does not expect anything else from that jeevan because of His svatantram and intrinsic karuNai. When Prapannan pulls his hand inside with anjali mudhrai, our Lord extends His hand in abhaya mudhrai assuring the jeevan not to fear about his lot.

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(9) A(9) A(9) ANJALINJALINJALI BECOMINGBECOMINGBECOMING AAA SYMBOLSYMBOLSYMBOL HOUSINGHOUSINGHOUSING B B BHARANYHARANYHARANYAAASAMSAMSAM INSIDEINSIDEINSIDE ITITIT...

It is believed that anjali generates the anugraham of the Lord. There are other pramANams that state Prapatthi generates the anugraham of the Lord. What is the meaning behind realizing the same phalan of Lord’s anugraham through both anjali and Prapatthi? What indeed is anugraham of the Lord? The cessation of His anger over our trespasses of His sAsthrams and the birth of His joy over our act of anjali or Prapatthi is the anugraham. If the Lord’s anger is not quenched through the performance of Prapatthi, then Prapatthi is fruitless. There is a different reason for stating that anjali generates the Lord’s anugraham. As mentioned earlier, anjali as a symbol contains ins ide it Prapatthi . Therefore, it has the same effect of Prapatthi itself.

thirukkolur Madurakavi Azhwar

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(10) B(10) B(10) BHAKTHIHAKTHIHAKTHI OROROR P P PRAPATTHIRAPATTHIRAPATTHI REMOVINGREMOVINGREMOVING THETHETHE L L LORDORDORD’’’SSS ANGERANGERANGER ATATAT

SINNERSSINNERSSINNERS

Our EmperumAn’s mercy is intrinsic (natural). Only this Dayaa Moorthy can grant us Moksham. For that to happen, His anger over our trespasses has to be removed. To gain this anugraham from our Lord, we have to perform Bhakthi or Prapatthi yOgam. Our Lord is now pleased and makes the sankalpam to remove the samsAric bonds and grants Moksham.

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(11) T(11) T(11) THEHEHE U U UNIQUENIQUENIQUE GLORYGLORYGLORY OFOFOF P P PRAPATTHIRAPATTHIRAPATTHI

thirumangai Azhwar

There is a unique vaibhavam associated with one who has done Prapatthi. The act of Prapatthi is a simple act to perform and does not take much time. Our Lord is pleased with the Jeevan, who has performed Prapatthi and blesses them uniquely to banish the karmas that are beginning to bear fruit and those which are in big bundles that have not yet begun to yield fruit. What is the fundamental reason for this anugraham of the Lord? It is His sahaja kaaruNyam (natural sense of compassion). What is KaaruNyam? It is the feeling state to remove other people’s sorrows without expecting anything in return.

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(12) T(12) T(12) THEHEHE SPECIALSPECIALSPECIAL D D DAYAAAYAAAYAA OFOFOF THETHETHE L L LORDORDORD TOWARDSTOWARDSTOWARDS THETHETHE P P PRAPANNANRAPANNANRAPANNAN

There is a question that lingers on the minds of people. Some belonging to Udayavar sampradhAyam believe that the Lord grants Moksham for Prapannan out of His KaruNyam and for the one performing Bhakthi yOgam, He grants moksham out of His anugraha sakthi. This seems to suggest that the Lord has KaruNai only to prapannan and the display of anugraham only to the one who practices Bhakthi yOgam. Is there such a division in reality? This then is the question. The answer is that the Lord has KaruNai and anugraham for both (PrapannAs and Bhakthi yogis). Further, He displays special anugraham towards the Prapannan. There is reasoning behind stating that He displays KaaruNyam to Prapannan and anugraham to the Bhakthi yogi. We can not deny that the Lord has visEsha KaruNai to Prapannan based on His act of granting Moksham quickly (at the end of this life or even before in the case of Aartha Prapannan). Further, Prapatthi alone can destroy the karmas that have begun to bear fruit. It is no wonder that the Lord has VisEsha KaruNai towards the one who has done Prapatthi. The special KaaruNyam of the Lord is emphasized to remind the Prapannan that he has to reflect deeply on this special guNam (KaaruNyam) of the Lord.

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poovirundavalli thirukkachchiinambigal

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(13) A(13) A(13) ANJALINJALINJALI GRANTINGGRANTINGGRANTING M M MOKSHAMOKSHAMOKSHAM DIRECTLYDIRECTLYDIRECTLY ANDANDAND INININ STEPSSTEPSSTEPS ( ( (GRADEDGRADEDGRADED

MANNERMANNERMANNER)))

Anjali has two forms:

1. When one does Prapatthi with its five angams, it grants mOksham directly.

2. If instead of observing Prapatthi in this manner, one performs kaimkaryams like constructing garlands or lighting lamps in BhagavAn’s sannidhi it is also a kind of anjali; latter does not grant direct mOksham and ends up as a PuNya Karmaa. It becomes like a foundation for a building and does not go to waste. This type of anjali will remove paapams, enhance the satthva guNam and dhivya Jn~Anam and stimulate one to practice Bhakthi or Prapatthi yOgam and lead to mOksham. This is the step by step happening associated with the second type of Anjali.

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(14) D(14) D(14) DISPUTEISPUTEISPUTE OVEROVEROVER THETHETHE REACHREACHREACH OFOFOF ANJALIANJALIANJALI ANDANDAND THETHETHE RECONCILIATIONRECONCILIATIONRECONCILIATION

The position that anjali can give Moksham directly or in stages, conflicts with the PramANams that one cannot attain moksham unless one practices Bhakthi or Prapatthi yOgam. Is it not an exaggeration to say that anjali can lead to Moksham in this context?

Answer: The power of anjali is such that one can receive from the Lord the anugraham that one seeks. If some one holds the anjali mudhrA without seeking any phalans or worshipping other gods, then it will enhance the sathva guNam, destroy sins and set the stage for Moksham. There is hence no conflict in elevating anjali to the level of Prapatthi yOgam. The 30th slOkam of SrI VaradarAja PanchAsath dwells further on the glories of anjali.

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(15) T(15) T(15) THEHEHE G G GLORIESLORIESLORIES OFOFOF P P PRAPATTHIRAPATTHIRAPATTHI REVEALEDREVEALEDREVEALED BYBYBY S S SWAMYWAMYWAMY

ALALALAVANTHAVANTHAVANTHAAARRR

Maduramangalam Sri Embar

The 28th Stotra Ratnam slOkam instructs us on the Vaibhavams of anjali mudhrA. These are:

1. One who desires Moksham and has anjali mudhrA will not seek any God other than Sriman nArAyaNan

2. He will not seek any phalan from the Lord except Moksham

3. There is no time limit or boundary for performing Anjali

4. There is no restrictions on the location, where anjali should be done

5. There is no restriction based on Jaathi or Aasramam

6. There is no restriction on the number of times it should be done

7. It yields fruit quickly

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8. It destroys all kinds of sins

9. It confers all kinds of auspiciousness

10. It even protects the kith and kin of the one, who performs the anjali

11. It grants the Parama purushArtham of Moksham

12. It is capable of granting other PurushArthams for those, who do not seek Moksham. When done in the above prescribed manner, anjali will keep the palms united and they can not be separated by anyone.

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(16) T(16) T(16) THEHEHE FOURFOURFOUR MARKSMARKSMARKS OFOFOF THETHETHE P P PRAPANNANRAPANNANRAPANNAN

The marks of the adhikAris benefiting from anjali Vaibhavam are:

1. The firmness of conviction that he will never be the servant of anyone except the Lord

2. No desire to seek any other gods

3. No desire for any phalans

4. Firmness of conviction that he has no burden to protect himself since he has handed over that responsibility to the Lord.

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Thupul Swami Desikan

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(17) T(17) T(17) THEHEHE INDICATORSINDICATORSINDICATORS OFOFOF THETHETHE ABOVEABOVEABOVE FOURFOURFOUR L L LAKSHAAKSHAAKSHANNNAMSAMSAMS INININ AAA

PPPRAPANNANRAPANNANRAPANNAN

How can we recognize the above four marks in a Prapannan?

LakshaNam for being the Servant of the Lord alone:

1. When the parents of the Prapannan do not have any bhakthi to the Lord, he would not like to be described as the son of such parents. He knows well that the Bhagavath Saasthrams prohibit the attribution by place of birth, kulam and parents for a ParamaikAnthi. Every thing for him is EmperumAn Himself. He reveals his firm conviction that he is sEshan only to the Sarva Seshi, EmperumAn. This is the first lakshaNam.

2. He does not seek any gods other than Sriman nArAyaNan: When the time of death approaches and he is incapable of articulating his thoughts, his relatives might seek the help of other gods (Kshudhra dEvathAs) to keep him alive. This ParamaikAnthi Prapannan will object to the invocation of any gods other than Sriman nArAyaNan even in that feeble state. This is the second lakshaNam.

3. He does not seek any Phalan other than Moksham: He will not seek non-lasting pleasures like house, material riches and indhriya sukhams. He will not engage in acts that will be conducive to the accumulation of such transient sukhams. This is the third lakshaNam of a Prapannan.

4. He has the conviction that all the burden of protecting himself is now with the Lord: He does not seek any other means to protect himself after Prapatthi. He entrusts totally the bhaaram (burden) of his rakshaNam to the Lord alone and does not engage in any

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other means to assure his salvation. This is the fourth lakshaNam.

The examples of PrapannAs, who demonstrate all these four lakshaNams, are AchAryAs like Swamy Naatha Muni, Swamy ALavanthAr, Acharya RaamAnuja and Swamy Desikan.

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NNNIGAMANAMIGAMANAMIGAMANAM: T: T: THEHEHE G G GLORYLORYLORY (V (V (VAIBHAVAMAIBHAVAMAIBHAVAM) ) ) OFOFOF ANJALIANJALIANJALI TOTOTO THETHETHE L L LORDORDORD

Melkote Adivansatakopan and Azhagiya Singar

Swamy ALavandhAr has instructed us in one of the SthOthra Rathna slOkam that the power of anjali to the Lord (mudhrA of Palms joined together in front of the Lord) has limitless power and glory. Such an anjali gesture offering salutations to the Lord’s sacred feet melts the heart of the Lord (am + jalayathi) like a sugar cube dipped in water. The Lord’s joy on seeing this anjali mudhrai from the chEthanam is boundless.

Our Lord recognizes this anjali mudhrai as the symbol of cessation of action on the part of the Prapannan indicating that he is not going to engage in any action to protect himself anymore and that he has entrusted all that burden to the Lord in his helpless state. Swamy Desikan says he is of the firm opinion that the anjali-based siddhAntham (Prapatthi) is the most fruitful one to gain MOksham. Therefore, he says

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that he defeated the incorrect disputations of all, who were against Prapatthi mArgam and is displaying his anjali mudhrA before the Lord.

We have to remember Swamy NammAzwAr’s upadEsam for us about the anjali to the Lord in this context: “dEsamAna aNikalam yenn kai koopu seyhayE”

SrimatE nigamAnta mahaa dESikAya nama:

Daasan,

Oppiliappan KOil VaradAchAri SaThakOpan